After singing ‘Narcocorridos’ or songs that allegedly glorify the drug trafficking industry in Mexico, the famous group, Los Tigres del Norte, will no longer perform in Mexico’s Chihuahua state. After performing the song, “La Reina del Sur” (The Queen of the South), at a cattle expo concert, the city of Chihuahua issued a statement banning future performances of the group.

City government officials stated, “The musical group will not get permits for future shows in the city limits, until such time as authorities decide otherwise.” They continued to state that the band had violated a three month old city law, which prohibited songs about drug trafficking and as a result will face a possible fine of 20,000 pesos or $1,585. Javier Torres Cardona, the City Governance Director, stated, “We ask concert organizers and the artists themselves to think about the difficult situation the country is in.”

Cardona’s statement refers to the close to 48,000 people in Mexico that have lost their lives as a result of drug related violence from December of 2006 until this past September. The state of Chihuahua, lying along the U.S. border, containing the city of Chihuahua as well as Ciudad Juarez, has and continues to witness regular drug related violence. Monday, five men were shot to death in a barber shop in Chihuahua, according to city officials.

The popular group expressed surprise through a Twitter posting and also stated that they were unaware of the city ordinance. However Los Tigres are accustomed to controversy surrounding their music. In 2009, they cancelled an appearance at an awards ceremony after they were asked to not play the song, “La Granja” or “The Farm.” This song allegedly alludes to the Mexican drug war. Other popular songs of the group include, “Contrabando y Traición” or “Contraband and Betrayal” as well as “Jefe de Jefes” or “Boss of Bosses.”

The government has attempted to censor similar ‘narcocorridos’ from other musical groups since 2002.